Zoellner, rape suspect, faces sentencing todayKodiak resident Robert Zoellner Jr., who pleaded guilty in January to coercion and attempted assault in the first degree after being accused of rape, will be sentenced today. Zoellner, 34, faces up to 15 years in prison on the two charges, with six years suspended and seven years probation. Zoellner has a history of sexual abuse and is listed on the Alaska Department of Public Safety’s sex offender registry. He wa...

Bears erase 2-0 deficit for inaugural soccer winJose Cortez sprang into the air with a what-just-happened look on his face. Seconds later he was in the middle of a celebration, soaking up the moment with his Kodiak High School boys soccer teammates. Cortez scored two goals, including the game-winner, in Kodiak’s come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Nikiski in a Northern Lights Conference match on Saturday at Joe Floyd Track and Field. It wasn’t your normal run-of-...

It’s time to take ‘stalk’ of your rhubarbIt was a few Aprils ago: As the Portland-Seattle “Cascades” train rounded a gentle turn between Puyallup and Tacoma, it clicked along the tracks like fingernails strumming a comb. The view through the windows clicked by too, like movie frames: men clustered in tight groups outside warehouses, talking, smoking; dogs running along fenced back yards; swing sets, apple trees dressed in pink blooms, clothes hanging fro...

Fish Factor: Hatcheries add to catch throughout state Each year more than one-third of all the salmon caught in Alaska begin their lives in a hatchery. There are 31 hatchery facilities in Alaska: 15 privately owned, 11 state owned, two federal research facilities, one tribal hatchery at Metlakatla, and two state-owned sport fish hatcheries. Alaska’s hatchery program is very different from fish farming, where salmon are crammed tightly into net pens until they’re read...

KHS girls fall to Nikiski in conference matchAfter topping Kodiak 3-1 in Saturday’s Northern Lights Conference match, Nikiski’s girls soccer coach Troy Zimmerman walked away impressed with the Bears’ first-year program. “They put on a great game,” Zimmerman said. “To come out and only drop a match 3-1, that is competing, so hats off to the Kodiak girls. They really stepped it up and really played a full two halves of soccer.” Kodiak dropped to 0-2 in the NLC...

Coombs, Beltran net first KHS soccer goalsAbi Coombs and Daniel Beltran are now an answer to a trivia question. The two scored the first goals in the history of Kodiak High School’s varsity soccer program in Friday matches against Nikiski at Joe Floyd Track and Field. Coombs delivered the girls first goal in the 50th minute, while Beltran’s goal came in the sixth minute of the boys contest. Since the girls game was played first, Coombs gets credited for t...

Fundraiser benefits McCarthy brothersOn good days, James McCarthy spends time hitting golf balls at an Anchorage driving range. Despite battling pancreatic cancer, he still has his picturesque swing that guides the club to the ball — the same swing that helped him capture Kodiak Island Golf Championship titles in 2008 and 2009. McCarthy — arguably the best golfer the island has produced — is now fighting for his life against one of the deadliest form...

Bullying, body image and the afterlifeThe Kodiak High School drama club’s spring performances are a more serious matter this year with two plays that focus on bullying and body image and looking back over life decisions. “Tracks” has a group of people that just died waiting for the subway to arrive to take them to either heaven or hell as they discuss their life and try to figure out where they are going. “I don’t really want people to look at it as a...

Leisnoi prepping to log Chiniak Lake and LagoonAdding insult to environmental injury to the unique Chiniak Sitka Spruce forest, A-1 Timber Consultants (A-1), according to my information, is doing preparatory work for clear-cut logging around Chiniak Lake and Lagoon, a special place due to landlocked silver salmon and long beach from which whales can sometimes be observed from World War II fortifications. Leisnoi Corporation has apparently chosen not to seek ot...

Isle Bells to ring in spring with world premiereKodiak’s hand bell choir will be ringing in the spring season on Sunday with the world premiere of a piece of music composed just for them plus a mixture of old and new favorites. Isle Bells brand new piece, “Kodiak,” gives the choir a chance to work with a composer and learn new ways of playing their instruments, said Ella Saltonstall, Isle Bells’ artistic director. “Getting to work with the composer as we learne...